Moore v. Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Soc'y, Inc.

541 S.W.3d 403
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 2018
DocketNo. 07-16-00300-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 541 S.W.3d 403 (Moore v. Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Soc'y, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moore v. Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Soc'y, Inc., 541 S.W.3d 403 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Patrick A. Pirtle, Justice

Appellant, Stephanie Moore, proceeding pro se , appeals the trial court's order awarding Appellee, the Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Society, Inc. (APHS), attorney's fees in the amount of $20,926.54 incurred in a lawsuit originally filed by Moore for trespass and the wrongful taking of livestock allegedly belonging to her. By a sole issue, Moore challenges that award of attorney's fees. We reform the judgment, reducing APHS's recovery of attorney's fees to $17,926.54, and affirm the judgment as reformed.

BACKGROUND

In 2013, Moore sued APHS and others for trespass and the wrongful taking of forty-two head of livestock allegedly in violation of the Texas Theft Liability Act.1 By its pleading in response to that suit, APHS requested attorney's fees pursuant to section 134.005(b) of the Act. APHS later filed a hybrid motion for summary judgment again requesting attorney's fees under the Act.

Before the trial court could conduct a hearing on APHS's motion for summary judgment, Moore filed a motion for continuance. When the trial court denied that motion, Moore nonsuited APHS. Following entry of an Order Granting Nonsuit, APHS filed its notice of appeal. That appeal was subsequently dismissed for want of jurisdiction because it was determined that the order being appealed was not a final order. See Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Soc'y, Inc. v. Moore , No. 07-15-00037-CV, 2016 WL 735894, at *2, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 1794, at *6 (Tex. App.-Amarillo Feb. 19, 2016, no pet.).

Following issuance of mandate in the earlier appeal, APHS requested a hearing in this case on its claim for attorney's fees as a "prevailing party" under the Act. An evidentiary hearing was held. During that hearing, an attorney for APHS testified that its claim included the sum of $3,000 for "reasonable and necessary" legal services rendered in conjunction with the prior appeal. After that hearing, the trial *405court awarded APHS an award of attorney's fees in the amount of $20,926.54. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law were not requested, and none were filed.

APPLICABLE LAW

Section 134.005(b) of the Act provides that "[e]ach person who prevails in a suit under this chapter shall be awarded court costs and reasonable and necessary attorney's fees." (Emphasis added). The standard for determining the reasonableness of a claim for attorney's fees was announced in El Apple I, Ltd. v. Olivas , 370 S.W.3d 757, 764 (Tex. 2011). It requires some documentation of the services performed, who performed them, the hours spent, the date performed, and the hourly rate before a court can award attorney's fees under the "Lodestar" method. Id.

Prior to El Apple I , the Texas Supreme Court identified a non-exclusive list of factors to consider in determining the reasonableness of attorney's fees. See Arthur Andersen & Co. v. Perry Equipment Corp. , 945 S.W.2d 812, 818 (Tex. 1997). Those factors include: (1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill required to perform the legal service properly; (2) the likelihood that the acceptance of representation in the case at issue will preclude other employment by the attorney; (3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services; (4) the amount in controversy and the result obtained; (5) the time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances; (6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; (7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services; and (8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent on results obtained or uncertainty of collection before the legal services have been rendered.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The availability of attorney's fees under the Theft Liability Act is a question of law we review de novo. See Arrow Marble, LLC v. Killion , 441 S.W.3d 702, 705 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2014, no pet.). See also Spector Gadon & Rosen , P.C. v. Southwest Securities , Inc. , 372 S.W.3d 244, 248 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2012, no pet.). The award of fees to a prevailing party in an action under the Act is mandatory. Id. However, an appellate court must review the award to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to justify the award as both reasonable and necessary. See Bocquet v. Herring , 972 S.W.2d 19, 21 (Tex. 1998).

ANALYSIS

As a preliminary matter, APHS contends Moore challenges APHS's status as a "prevailing party" entitled to attorney's fees under the provisions of the Theft Liability Act. Although a "person who prevails" is not defined by that act, we nevertheless conclude APHS is a prevailing party.

Generally, a defendant is not considered a prevailing party when the plaintiff nonsuits a claim without prejudice. Epps v. Fowler , 351 S.W.3d 862, 869 (Tex. 2011). In Epps , however, the Supreme Court noted disfavor of nonsuits that were filed to circumvent unfavorable rulings. Id. at 870. There, the Court held that "a defendant may be a prevailing party when a plaintiff nonsuits without prejudice if the trial court determines, on the defendant's motion, that the nonsuit was taken to avoid an unfavorable ruling on the merits." Id.

Here, in its order granting APHS's motion for attorney's fees, the trial court specifically found that Moore "non-suited her claims in an attempt to avoid an unfavorable ruling on the merits."

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541 S.W.3d 403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-amarillo-panhandle-humane-socy-inc-texapp-2018.